TEHRAN--Lajim Tower is a brick cylindrical tower used as a tomb among the towering trees. It is located in the village of Lajim near Savadkuh in Mazandaran province. The tower was built around 1022 CE during the Bavand dynasty that ruled over the region at the time.

The tower has a cylindrical burial chamber crowned by a double dome, though the outer dome has not survived. It is likely the outer dome was originally conical in shape, typical for tomb towers in the region from the same period. The entrance to the burial chamber is on the eastern side, ISNA wrote.

Decorative features are concentrated below the dome surrounding the entrance. Directly below the dome is a row of shallow arched niches. Below this is a narrow band of geometric patterns, separating it from two inscriptive bands. The upper band is written in Pahlavi, the language of the pre-Islamic Sassanid Empire, and the lower band is in

Arabic using the Kufic calligraphic style. The Pahlavi inscription is largely damaged and has not yet been deciphered. The Arabic inscription contains the name of the person buried in the tomb – Abu'l Favaris Shahriyar bin Abbas bin Shahriyar.

The entranceway is crowned by a pointed arch and set inside a shallow niche with a second pointed arch. Its tympanum features a brick honeycomb pattern. The plain cylindrical interior chamber is lit solely by the entrance.

The Lajim Tower inscriptions represent the first known use of the word "qubba" referring to the domed structure of the building, demonstrating the architectural influence of Islam in the region. 

The ornately carved inscriptions under the dome make this brick structure an artistically significant example of ancient Iranian architecture and design.

According to Hossein Izadi, Director General of Mazandaran Cultural Heritage, the Lajim Tomb Tower was registered under the national registration number 185 in 1932 and was included in the list of national monuments of Iran.

In 1938, the Iranian National Monuments Association allocated a budget for the restoration of the tower, and the necessary materials were procured from Tehran and transported to Lajim, with the consent of the architect of the General Directorate of Archaeology at the time and in cooperation with the supervisors of the "Shirgah Traverse Manufacturing" factory.

Finally, the last restoration of the building, during which serious damage was also caused to the Kufic inscription, took place in the 1990s. 

KD